You Can’t Spell ‘party’ Without Arty

Russian import Artem Stolyarov (a.k.a Arty) may appear to need a fake ID to gain admission to clubs, but the 22-year-old has got a firm grip on the industry. In a year studded with veteran electronic-dance-music producers and old-school fans pitted against EDM newcomers who only know the hits, it’s refreshing to learn that Arty is all for digging deeper. Whether during his residency at Marquee (next spinning Aug. 12 at the dayclub), Aug. 14 at Lavo, or through his new Together We Are radio show, make time for this fresh-faced rising force.

You’ve been on the radar for about three years and are racking up the accolades, such as the No. 25 spot on the 2011 DJ Mag Top 100. Does it create extra pressure on you, being one of the younger producers in the game?

No, I’m ‘doing myself,’ and it’s really good. It shows you that there are people who support, they like your music, and that I have fans and they appreciate what I’m doing for them. Yes, there may be a little bit of pressure for the young guys like Porter Robinson and Madeon, but we’re just making music; it’s our passion, and this is what we like most about this world.

Armin van Buuren’s “Shivers” was the track that got you into EDM. What was it like being interviewed by him during A State of Trance 550 in Moscow?

It was an amazing feeling. The biggest tour in trance music—and actually the man who made a lot of it—offered for me to play with him for A State of Trance. It was a really big honor for me. I was a bit nervous and scared, wondering what kind of questions he’d ask and what I’m going to tell him—a lot of pressure at that time, especially since it was one of my first international shows. But he’s a super nice, super chill guy and the interview was really nice. It was one of the best shows from 2011, so it was a really good experience for me.

Speaking of EDM legends, what was it like working with Paul van Dyk on the beautiful track “The Ocean”?

I actually sent him a demo with the melody and main parts, like, three years ago. I got an invitation from Paul van Dyk to this show in Berlin in May 2009. It was my first international travel. I put some ideas on the USB drive and gave them to Paul or his manager. After he liked some of the ideas, we put these ideas on the album. We never worked in the studio properly, but it’s really nice when you give some of the melodies or ideas and you see how the legends like Paul van Dyk work with them.

How do feel the productions you put out under Arty differ from those under your alias Alpha 9?

I wanted to do another production, another style. This was an exclusive contract for Flashover, the label of Ferry Corsten. It was necessary to make another alias. It’s the same music from Arty, just right now it’s totally different now compared to 2009. But there’s no difference in terms of the music that I make.

The Swedes, Dutch and French are getting a lot of attention in EDM this year, but what’s going on in the Russian scene?

There are a lot of talented guys like from house, like Swanky Tunes and Hard Rock Sofa. They [did a] really good job [representing] us lately last year and they were very successful. But it’s not about only house music. Our guys are pretty big in trance music. There’s a lot of talent, but because electronic dance music is not so big in Russia and there’s not so much going on in the club scene, this is the reason there’s not so much going on outside for the Russian guys. But I think we’re getting bigger, so let’s see what will happen in the next 2-3 years for the Russian musicians.

What is your goal with the new Together We Are broadcast?

It’s my new trance radio show exclusively on Sirius XM Electric Area. It took a lot of work to put this radio show online, and we are really happy with the result. We got a lot of good responses for the first episodes. And we will deliver a lot of really good music and cool guest shows. It’s not the usual musical format. There are a lot of different BPM tracks, from different styles from deep house to techno, from drum ’n’ bass to house music, from trance to really classic stuff from the ’90s or ’80s. This is for me to fit in music that I really like, but that I can’t play live. I can play a lot of different music to show my interest, and share the music I like with fans.

Do you feel the new generation of fans (and even DJs) should know the ‘classics’ from the ’80s and ’90s?

It’s really important because it’s kind of a foundation. It’s something that you should know about, the music that was [around] before maybe we were even born. Maybe some of the young generation don’t know about it. But I really like the music of this time, and it’s where I got a lot of inspiration. It’s really good to be different, and [play] not just modern music, but to be different in arrangement of time—like from ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, maybe some of the classics from the early 2000s. I’m sure a lot of young guys—again like Porter Robinson or Madeon—they really appreciate the music of that time, because you can hear it in their tracks. There’s inspiration from Daft Punk or from Orbital and other guys from that time.

You’ve been called “the darling of EDM.” How do you feel about that?

I don’t know. I’m trying to do my best, to work on the tracks, to give my fans what they need tracks to be, a little bit different in terms of what I’m doing, not stuck in one style. I will continue to do that. Especially when you start traveling a lot, and you have a lot of shows and a lot of people that appreciate what kind of music you’re playing, what kind of music you’re doing. And you see these people in the front row of a show and you understand it’s something that you do that’s really important for them. So you just need to keep it up.

Suggested Next Read

To the untrained American ear, 27-year-old Christopher Mercer’s quick and thick Yorkshire dialect might be a bit perplexing. Fortunately for the British DJ/producer better known as Rusko, his brand of bright dubstep speaks for him. Rusko launches a special monthlong residency at Rain on Aug. 4 during the Palms’ annual Midsummer Lingerie Masquerade. With two new albums in tow, Rusko is ready to drink, “skank” and find someone to teach him how to gamble.

Get to know the Life Is Beautiful acts. Learn about Downtown's new kaleidoscopic murals. Find tips on how to navigate schedule conflicts. And see what's on the mouthwatering menu. Here is Vegas Seven's guide to tasting, seeing and hearing all the festival has to offer, from the first afternoon set to the final headliner.